Dear Editor,Â
In a display of semantic gymnastics that would make a contortionist blush, Minister Kwame McCoy has taken to the airwaves to defend the indefensible. By dismissing concerns over the vacant Leader of the Opposition seat as “manufactured nonsense,” the Minister is not merely playing word games; he is signaling the dawn of an era of executive overreach that threatens to reduce the 13th Parliament to a mere rubber-stamp for the ruling elite.
Minister McCoy’s argument is as hollow as the “functioning” Parliament he describes. He rests his case on the technicality that 65 bodies were sworn in on November 3, 2025. Yet, he conveniently ignores the fundamental architecture of our Westminster system. A Parliament is not simply a collection of individuals in seats; it is a delicate ecosystem of checks, balances, and constitutional roles.
To claim that the National Assembly is “lawfully constituted” for the purpose of a National Budget while the Office of the Leader of the Opposition remains vacant is an affront to the spirit of the Constitution. The Leader of the Opposition is not a ceremonial garnish; it is a constitutionally mandated office essential for the scrutiny of public spending. Presenting a Budget without this office filled is like trying to hold a trial without a defense attorney and calling it “justice” simply because the judge and prosecutor showed up.
The Minister accuses the Opposition of being “unable to mount a credible debate,” yet the Government seems terrified of a process that includes a formally recognized leader of the opposing side. The election of the Leader of the Opposition is not a suggestion—it is a prerequisite for the healthy functioning of the House. By rushing to the January 26th Budget presentation while this role remains in limbo, the PPP/C is attempting to bypass the very scrutiny that the Guyanese taxpayer deserves.
Let’s call this what it is: Constitutional Gaslighting.
When the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and others signal their intent to boycott, they aren’t “defaulting to deception,” as McCoy suggests. They are refusing to participate in a charade. If the Government can unilaterally decide which constitutional offices are “optional” based on their own legislative timeline, then no guardrail is safe.
If we allow the 2026 Budget to be presented under this cloud of illegitimacy, we aren’t just passing a fiscal plan; we are enshrining a precedent where the Executive branch decides when and how the Opposition is allowed to exist.
Minister McCoy may find the “audacity” of the people’s concerns “astonishing,” but what is truly reckless is the Government’s haste to spend billions of the people’s money while the primary constitutional watchdog remains legally hobbled.
The 13th Parliament may have the numbers, but until the Speaker fulfills his duty to facilitate the election of the Leader of the Opposition, any Budget presented on Monday will be a document of executive overreach, signed in the ink of constitutional bypass. Guyana deserves a Parliament that functions by the book, not by the Government’s convenience
RespectfullyÂ
Hemdutt Kumar
